Best Practices: People and Culture - Stakeholder Management Approach
Identify Key Stakeholders and Their Needs
The Stakeholder Management process starts from identifying individuals or groups affected by and capable of influencing the change process. Assessment of stakeholders and stakeholder issues is necessary to identify the range of interests that need to be taken into consideration in planning change and to develop the vision and change process in a way that generates the greatest support. More specifically, stakeholder analysis benefits are:
Identification of stakeholders reactions to change and its effects on the project;
Identification of potential blockers and supporters of the change;
Allows for more complete understanding of political barriers to implementation; and
Establishes key input for communication strategy.
Prepare Stakeholder Management Plan
Once key stakeholders are identified and their needs are understood, a detailed
stakeholder management plan needs to be created. The Stakeholder
Management Plan is a strategic, systematic approach for maintaining
the support of key influences, minimizing any opposition and
developing ownership and buy-in from the vast majority of uncommitted
stakeholders.
Conduct Stakeholder Activities
Conduct developed stakeholder activities, including, but not limited to, one-to-one
meetings, individual and program-wide communications, role transition
activities and education. This is a process, not a tool, therefore
there are no templates associated with it.
Test Stakeholder Plan Effectiveness
To enable continuous insights and improvement of stakeholder management and to ensure plan effectiveness; the implementation team needs to conduct formal and informal review of stakeholder management progress.
Stakeholder management effectiveness testing is a strategic, systematic approach for continuous improvement of the Stakeholder management plans. Stakeholder management plan effectiveness assessment is conducted in order to:
Address the issues of all the stakeholders needs and concerns which might be changing throughout the project;
Continue to establish key input for communications, and training approach; and
Provide basis for measurable effectiveness.
Stakeholder management effectiveness can be assessed using formal and informal mechanisms.
Informally, stakeholder management effectiveness is indicated by high levels of:
Active sponsorship of proposals in key events;
Allocated personal time to support the proposals;
Quality of allocated people to the project;
Preparedness to challenge stakeholders with low support; an
d
Support for the program away from formal activities.
Formally, stakeholder management effectiveness maybe assessed though qualitative measures obtained through focus groups and questionnaires.
